Why & When Calling a Home Professional is Cheaper
Posted May 19th, 2009 by tina
... You Also Need Power Tools
People are worried about the economy and they should be. Many are learning to rethink how they spend money. Have you thought about things you can live without? or spending less on vacation this year by driving instead of flying. Some home owners are starting to do their own car and home repairs with mixed results.
Saturday’s New York Times article by Susan Saulny,
Even to Save Cash, Don’t Try This Stuff at Home
provides some great stories about why this isn’t always a good idea. You might think it’s easy to replace your toilet but one unfortunate home owner found she then needed to repair the floor and ceiling below the toilet when it collapsed (read the article).
Yes there are projects that home owners can do, and if you’re interested in being a do-it-yourself , here is some advice on where to start:
Time for Mr Handyman?
- Pick projects that you will need to do multiple times over the years, i.e. where investing in the right tools and practice will payoff.
- Take time to research the right way to do something, i.e. painting is 80% about preparing the walls, using the right tools and the right paint. After applying a third coat of paint (owner supplied) more than once, we no longer work with paint from box stores.
- Invest in the right tools, i.e. you can’t buy a good paint brush at WalMart, and you need to research how to select the right paint brush when going to Home Depot or Lowe’s.
- Practice, practice and more practice … so give youself time to learn, in order to be proud of the final results.
- Call a professional when you don’t the time or patience to follow these rules. You’ll be glad you did!
When recruiting technicians to work at Mr Handyman, we look at how many windows and doors they’ve installed and ask them to explain how they would replace a window sill. Our technicians bring a wealth of experience to the job that most home owners will never acquire as that’s not what you do 30 to 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year. Our technicians have the experience and thousands of dollars worth of tools to get your projects done quickly and correctly.
On Time. Done Right!
Tags: contractor, Do It Yourself?, handyman, home repairs, NY Times
I agree that sometimes it’s just better to call someone elso to do it. Especially if you’re new to home repair, or it’s a large/complicated job. Atlanta Handyman has even rescued me from my own mistakes, so I applaud you for being in the business.
I agree. I’m a contractor in MN and many times I have helped homeowners out after some hardware store told them they could to it themselves. Many times it ends up costing more for us to re-do their started project, than it would have if they had hired us to do it the first time. I always recommend people insured professionals.
Nace, We’re in agreement. I was at Home Depot tonight, as I wanted to see what they were teaching women in a “Do-It-Herself” class, and tonight was about bathrooms. While sharing stories, there was one where the customer came in and explained he had a leak around the gasket, between the tank and the bowl. He was looking for a wax ring so he could do the repairs. We laughed, wondered where this advice came from and agreed that customer shouldn’t be trying to repair their own toilet.